


hit it 'til it breaks

by jercydee



Series: Haikyuu!! NaNoWriMo 2018 [13]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Minor Injuries, NaNoWriMo, Parallels, Senpai-Kouhai Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-30 04:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16757593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jercydee/pseuds/jercydee
Summary: NaNoWriMo Day 13: Hurt/ComfortTobio visits Seijoh once again.Warning: Depiction of a minor injury. Also Oikawa is Salty.





	hit it 'til it breaks

**Author's Note:**

> Shout-out to Lori for the idea!
> 
> Un-beta'd and it shows whoops /o\

Tobio shuffles on his feet, stepping aside to let a group of giggling girls pass. He tries not to glare at them as they walk by, clutching his sling close to his chest.

The last time he visited Seijoh was completely different. He’s way less stressed about being kicked off from the campus as a student from another school than he was before.

Though that may be because he’s more focused on trying to keep from his sprained wrist from getting more injured.

* * *

Everyone else says it’s a total accident. Tobio knows the truth.

It happened because he got into a slump at the beginning of summer. Instead of pinpoint tosses, his sets were off by precious fractions; instead of rapid calculations, it took him a few more moments to strategize. There was no apparent cause for it, and his teammates try to reassure him that sometimes it just _happens_  but everyone gets over it.

Not him apparently.

He started arriving to practice _way_  earlier than anyone else, setting up the net on his own with stubborn determination. He started leaving later than _Hinata,_  who only leaves because he has to bike home. He began an obsessive pattern that in hindsight he could have easily avoided.

He’s lucky that someone was still around when it happened.

Hinata had just exited the gym, heading out to go home, so Tobio began practicing his jump serves instead. He was drenched all over, clothes soaked to his skin, hair trickling with perspiration. The ball slammed into his palm with a satisfactory smack, and it would have been a good note to end his extra practice with –

Then his feet slipped beneath him, sliding on the sweat that began to drip everywhere on the gym floors.

He tried to cushion his fall by sticking his hands out behind him, but when he landed he screamed, a sharp pain shooting up from his left arm.

Hinata—somehow, fortunately—hadn’t left yet, returning to the gym with a burst, and they rushed Tobio to the nurse’s office where he was told he sprained his wrist.

Hours later, he arrived home with his arm in a sling, left hand protected in a soft cast. He was told he couldn’t play for at least three weeks.

* * *

News spread around fast. Coach Ukai gave him a stern lecture, and Takeda gave him a terrifying look that Tobio never wants to see again. Those he handled quite easily—it was the rest of the team that he couldn’t handle.

They coddle him when they weren’t busy with practice. Suga-san looked half-excited to have more play time with Tobio out injured, and also half-remorseful for being on the court _because_  Tobio’s injured. He ends up particularly more doting than the others.

Tobio won’t mind it if it weren’t for the fact that he got himself into this mess. He hates being babied, and he only has himself to blame for working so hard he didn’t think to mop up when his sweat was flying everywhere. He knows how to take care of himself, knows how important it is in order to be in peek form so he can be the best setter for every game, and now he’s stuck nearly an entire _month_ unable to play.

What worries him most, though, is the uncertainty now that he actually hurt himself. His teammates tried to reassure him again that these injuries are normal, that he’ll recover just fine and things will be back in no time, but he can’t ignore his fears: _what if?_

What if his wrist will never return to normal? What if the injury permanently affects the way he plays? Will he ever be able to truly toss again once this is all over?

When the anxiety starts keeping him up late at night, he decides he needed to talk to someone about it.

And there’s only one person who will really understand.

* * *

Tobio makes his way to where he recalls the volleyball gym is located. He stands by the open door, peeking into where practice has obviously wrapped up. The only person left—as he predicted—is Oikawa-san. Even Iwaizumi-san isn’t anywhere to be found.

He watches Oikawa practicing his serves, throwing the ball up gracefully and running up to slam it into the other side of the court. The sound it makes at the impact is deafening, and Tobio is left to watch in awe.

Oikawa pants, wiping sweat off his chin.

“You know, people don’t like be spied on, Tobio-chan.”

He blushes, but presents himself more fully at the entrance.

“Can I come in?”

Oikawa looks over to the door where he is, eyes narrowed at him before cocking his head in a come-in motion. Tobio walks in, face dropping into a frown as Oikawa eyes his sling.

“What’s the cast for?” he asks. “Injured yourself for life, Tobio-chan?”

Tobio’s frown deepens. “No,” he snarls. In a quieter voice, he mumbles, “I hope not, anyway.”

Despite trying to hide his literal deepest, darkest fear, he sees Oikawa immediately perking up at that.

“Oh?” he says. “So you _have_ permanently injured yourself?”

Tobio scoffs, unable to meet Oikawa’s delighted eyes. “I said _no._ ”

“You look like you may as well have said yes, Tobio-chan.” Oikawa smirks, humming to himself. “What a waste if you did. How can I defeat you if you quit the game?”

“I’m not quitting,” Tobio says defiantly.

“What’s the point of you visiting,” Oikawa says, walking over to the benches where Tobio notices a water bottle and towel lie, “if you’re not telling me that I’m always going to be better than you?”

Tobio rolls his eyes. “I’m never saying that, Oikawa-san.”

“Mm.”

Oikawa takes a long swig from his water bottle, gulping loudly. He breaks for air with a loud gasp. Tobio watches silently when he wipes his lips with the back of his wrist.

“Then why  _are_  you here?”

Tobio bites the inside of his lip. He looks down at his cast, his uninjured hand brushing it softly as he shifts from one foot to the other.

“I don’t know,” he says quietly, honestly. He had wanted to talk to Oikawa-san but he doesn’t know where to begin. He feels like an idiot for coming now.

“Then _what_  do you want?” Oikawa snaps, sounding irritated, and Tobio feels even stupider. “Because if you’re looking for sympathy you’re not going to find it here. I’m sure Karasuno is much kinder than I am.”

He shakes his head. “No, no. The team is really nice,” he says softly. “Too nice, actually...”

Oikawa barks out a hollow laugh. “ _Hah!_  At least that I can relate to. Iwa-chan coddled me the entire time I injured my knee.”

Tobio looks up at that. “He did?” He’s surprised. “I thought Iwaizumi-san would’ve been mad at you.”

“Oh, he was,” Oikawa says with another fake laugh. “He wouldn’t stop reminding me that I was the idiot for working myself so hard I got hurt, but he mother hen’d me anyway.”

He considers this. “Did that ever happen again? Working so hard you hurt yourself?”

“Obviously not,” Oikawa snaps. “Iwa-chan stops me before I even try. He just had to leave early today for some family stuff, but I’m sure I’ll get an earful once he finds out I stayed late.” He rolls his eyes, and Tobio purses his lips.

“Look,” Oikawa says after a moment of silence, “I told you you’re not getting any sympathy from me. If you want advice, I don’t know what to tell you. I messed up my knee pretty badly that I have to wear a brace now—you know this. And if you got so worked up that you ruined your arm or wrist or whatever, then that’s not my problem.

“But listen to what Iwa-chan said to me: _don’t_  do it again.”

When Tobio says nothing, Oikawa continues, “I know you’re stupid, Tobio-chan, but not _that_  stupid. I don’t care if you look up to me, but obviously don’t do what I did.” He looks at Tobio with a hard stare. “If you’re serious about not quitting, then stop feeling sad for yourself and work on getting better.”

Tobio wants to point how that he _isn’t_ feeling sad for himself, just so lost he doesn’t know what to do if he can’t play, but somehow Oikawa-san’s words resonate with him. He’s not going to quit volleyball, but he is going to stop worrying about his injury now.

If Oikawa-san can get through it, he can too. In fact, he’ll be even _better_  at recovery than his senpai.

He jerks his head in a single nod, feeling the determination simmer beneath his skin.

“Got it.”

The other setter rolls his eyes. “Is that all now? Because I have to close this place up.”

Tobio nods again, turning to leave. Behind him, he can hear Oikawa beginning to pack everything away.

Just as he reaches the gym doors, he hears: “Tobio-chan!” He turns around to see Oikawa pointing at him. “That’s two times you asked for advice now. Don’t think I’ll forget this.”

He nods, stepping out of the gym with a quiet, “Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if I hit the mark for hurt/comfort but Tobio _does_ get hurt and _is_ somewhat comforted so that's gotta count for something ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos give me life and comments will be handed a cookie<3
> 
> [NaNoWriMo profile](https://nanowrimo.org/participants/jercydee)  
> NaNo Tumblr (TBA) / Rebloggable version of this fic (TBA)  
> [Main Blog](http://striveattemptfail.tumblr.com)


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